The Automatic dash up motorway to fill in for Keane

The Automatic faced a motorway dash after Keane’s singer was struck down with gastroenteritis on June 13.

Ordinarily the inner workings of Tom Chaplin’s stomach wouldn’t concern the Welsh band, but with Keane due to play ‘Later… With Jools Holland’, The Automatic were asked to dash up to London to fill in.

“It was a mad day,” frontman Rob Hawkins told NME.COM. “One minute we’re at Rockfield Studios recording some new tracks, the next we’ve had a phone call asking us to play ‘Later… With Jools Holland’ and we’re desperately trying to find our drummer Iwan who’s gone missing, fishing in the nearby river.”

However with the drummer found, the wacky races began.

“We found him then strapped (keyboard player) Pennie into the passenger seat and bombed it down the M4,” explained Hawkins. We managed to get to London in the nick of time.”

The Automatic’s played ‘Monster’, ‘Raoul’ and ‘That’s What She Said’ for the show which will be broadcast on June 16, the same night the band are playing Club NME at KOKO.

Keane meanwhile were upset to miss the programme, but their singer is recovering.